Monday - Friday, 6-9 a.m.

Host Tom Temin brings you the latest news affecting the federal community each weekday morning, featuring interviews with top government executives and contractors. Listen live from 6 to 9 a.m. or download archived interviews below.

Today's Interviews:

The Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund has handed out so many loans to furloughed federal employees, it says it is running out of money. FEEA has never seen such high demand for its small, emergency loans. Director Steve Bauer has more.

Before there were highways, canals dominated inland transportation in the new United States. Inland waterways remain important economically. But maintaining them is getting expensive and the federal Waterway Trust Fund is running out of money. One answer: Privatization. Bloomberg Analyst Matthew Hummer has made a comprehensive study of this problem.

Andrew LiebholdResearch Entomologist
USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station

First it was Dutch Elm disease. Now an unwelcome visitor know as the Ash Borer has killed tens of millions of ash trees in the Midwest and Northeastern sections of the country. The beetle, which hails from Asia, has no predators in North America. Until now. Andrew Liebhold is a research entomologist with the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station in Morgantown, W.Va.

Helping residents recover from Superstorm Sandy, or improving access to health care, or helping troops transition to civilian life: These issues force agencies to ask for help from each other or outsiders. Ron Sanders is co-editor of "Tackling Wicked Government Problems: A Practical Guide for Developing Enterprise Leaders." It's a compilation of strategies for dealing with these types of issues. Sanders says wicked problems are becoming the new normal in government.

Agriculture Department managers are concerned about potential loss of knowledge. Large numbers of scientists are approaching retirement age. At the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the issue is the ability to identify insect pests. APHIS has launched an online bug ID tool to help new employees, or anyone for that matter. Dr. Terrance Walters is the ID Technology Program Coordinator at APHIS. He explains how the agency is helping.

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